Richard Young
As local and national elections unfold this year, CivicLex, a nonprofit focused on fostering engagement between Lexington residents and local government, will continue its work bringing hot-button issues to the forefront.
At the top of that list are upcoming elections for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council seats, for which CivicLex founder and executive director Richard Young said the organization will host candidate forums.
“I think the biggest thing that we're going to have our eyes on is, of course, the elections,” he said. “It's going to be a big year for turnover on council. There are a lot of new folks running, and we’re curious to see what dynamics they would bring, what they're going to bring to council next year, and how folks carry themselves in the various races.”
All 15 council seats are on the ballot this November. Five incumbents have opted not to seek re-election — District 3’s Hannah LeGris, District 5’s Liz Sheehan, District 10’s David Sevigny, District 11’s Jennifer Reynolds, and District 6’s Lisa Higgins-Hord. The city council has 12 district seats and three at-large seats. While council elections are nonpartisan, seats with more than two candidates will have primary elections in May. The highest vote-getter in the at-large race becomes vice mayor. The mayor is voted on separately.
Young said the organization would host a few candidate events around the primary elections and several leading up to the general election, focused on local candidates and down-ballot races, in addition to putting out a voter guide.
Earlier this month, CivicLex also announced a $1 million challenge grant from an anonymous donor couple to the Blue Grass Community Foundation. The gift will create a permanent endowment supporting CivicLex’s youth civic education programs for all school-age students across Lexington-Fayette County.
We spoke with Young to learn more.
What are some of the things you’re focusing on this year?
RY: What we're trying to do this year is create events where people can connect more organically with candidates. So many local offices — if you’re trying to get something done in your neighborhood or advocate for a particular policy — require knowing your elected officials, and there aren't many spaces in civic life where people can do that. We're building more casual spaces, like meet-and-greets, to give people a chance to have honest conversations with candidates.
What are some of the big issues you see coming up this year for Lexington?
RY: I don't think you can throw a stone without talking to someone who's frustrated about either high rents or trouble finding an affordable home, especially starter homes. There continues to be a housing shortage for students on UK’s campus, and we definitely saw how that played out recently with Maxwell Street zoning changes. That challenge is only going to grow. I imagine we'll see more student housing and other housing proposals for downtown, which
The last issue is the state of Fayette County Public Schools. There’s been a lot of controversy over the proposed occupational license fee increase. Some movement in Frankfort may restrict Fayette County Public Schools’ authority in this area. In the past, we haven’t done much work on how the public school system functions, but this year we’re recognizing that many people don’t understand it because it’s a complicated system. There aren’t many resources on the basics, so that’s something we hope to address.
What types of civic engagement do you see for this year?
RY: We have a robust K–12 civic education program, teaching thousands of public school students each year about how local government works. Down the road, we want to ensure that every young person in Lexington, regardless of school, has the opportunity to understand their role in shaping the city’s future.
CivicLex will also host several events connecting residents and community groups, including forming the city’s first Civic Assembly, a focus group that will explore potential changes to the city’s charter. The charter hasn’t been updated since 1998, which could lead to significant changes.
We’ve selected 36 residents at random from a pool of applicants across Lexington who are demographically representative of the city to form a Civic Assembly. They’ll meet in March to deliberate on charter changes, which could then go before council and, potentially, onto the November ballot for a vote.
How have CivicLex’s priorities expanded since its founding?
RY: For the past seven years, most of our focus has been on local government. We’ve realized through internal strategic planning and reviewing community input that civic life is much bigger than that. Our mission of strengthening civic health requires a broader lens because civic engagement extends beyond local government. While we encourage involvement in LFUCG decision-making, there are many other ways people can engage in civic life.